One Prince Cleaning Service
by S.A.M.Thedragongirl
Summary: Prince Yami of Solar Haven has never been one to stay home, marry a princess and rule. He'd rather head off on adventures and live freely. So when he's had it with princess Vivian, he seeks help from a strange gardener and some of his dragon friends.
1. Chapter 1

: *Stares in shock* No... not ANOTHER ONE! I just got her to delete those other horribly bad ones!

Joey.W:*Whacks Bakura on the head with rubber chicken* Aw, shut up! So Sam, anythin' ya wanna tell us and the people readin' the story?

Sam: Yep! I do, thank you Joey. Thanks to a little help from a very rude, but(I hate to admit) useful critique, I was able to start writing this story!

I also have to thank my **Beta**: **s2Teensnovelist**! She's an awesome author of a bunch of stories for Yugioh!  
And You must go read them when your done reading my story! I COMMAND YOU!  
Just copy and paste her name into the "Search" box up above and read her wonderful puzzleshipping stories.

Yami Marik: Now to start the-

Atem: *Shoves Wizard's hat over Marik's face* Hold it! They need to read the warning and disclaimer before the story starts, half-wit!

Sam: Atem dear, don't give spoilers to the peoples, they'll find out what Marik is in the sequel *Pulls Wizard's hat off Marik's head*  
Now Marik, please give my readers the warning please.

: Why should I?

Sam: Because if you do I'll give you home baked cookies and give back your rod! *Waves Millennium rod in his face*

: Fine. *Clears throat*  
**Warnings: This story may contain things children under the age of 13 may not be suitable for.  
These things include: Violence, Magic, Swearing, Perverted dragons-(**Seto: HEY! Y.M: Not _YOU_ Kaiba now get lost!**)  
*Clears throat* and mentioning of Yaoi. AKA YES! This WILL become a GAY FIC! But only once you get to the sequel, so  
if you can stand a tiny bit of conversation of homosexual stuff, keep going, and if ya can't GET LOST!**

Yami: I'll do the Disclaimer.

**Disclaimers: Yugioh belong to their respective owners, and so on. Sam only owns her active imagination and the gardener at the end of  
the chapter.  
ALSO!!! DO NOT IGNORE THIS!!! This story is loosely based off a book called "Dealing With Dragons" from a book series  
called "The Enchanted Forest".  
You do not need to read the books in order to read this, but it is incouraged that you read ****them,  
because they are just THAT good.**

Yugi.M: Please read, review and be kind about critiques, which will be kindly received if they are not **RUDE**!  
Also **NO FLAMMING**! **s2Teenovelist** and **Sam** have put a lot into this, and would like positive responces!

* * *

Yami growled, furiously as his mother glared back at him. The argument was not going well in his favor.

"For the last time Yami, you _will_ marry Vivian Of Great-Wall or Ziegfried of Rose Valley." His mother said in a stern tone.  
The prince gritted his teeth, in aggravation. "And for the last time mother, I do not wish to marry at all!" Yami stated, but his parents refused to let up, especially his mother.

Dressed in blue, skin pale, lips red as blood, and with hair black as coal, she was a beauty and a fright to behold. Chocolate brown eyes, which were usually very soft and wonderful to stare into, were now cold and as impenetrable as a stone wall. Yami knew this argument wasn't going to last much longer.

"I am 17, I'm too young to be thinking of marriage. I have enough royal duties to perform as it is." He retorted, crossing his arms and closing his eyes for a moment, then opened them again as his mother began speaking again.

"Your grand-mother Rosa married when she was 16, one can't really count all those years she was placed under that sleeping spell." Yami raised a brow at his mother questioningly. "Except she did not need to think about her kingdom's future first and study the ways of ruling an entire kingdom." Yami said.

The queen frowned. "What do you mean 'future of the kingdom'?"  
Yami glared. "I am referring to anything Vivian or Ziegfried could destroy. If Vivian becomes queen, she will enslave every man in the kingdom. And what will that say about my reputation towards my people?"  
His mother glared just as hard at him. "Yami! You are just making excuses. Vivian is a sweet girl and very lady-like."  
"Then why does she have 20 man servants instead of 5 maids?" Yami questioned.

The queen flushed, and he could tell it was only in slight embarrassment.  
"Yami..." She said in a tone that sent out warning bells in Yami's and his father, the King's, heads.

The King intervened, placing a hand on her shoulder.  
"Snow, my dear, please. Well Yami, if not Vivian, why not Ziegfried?" The King asked.

The future prince held back the urge to gag.

"He is just as bad with women as Vivian is with men. Which comes to the same conclusion as Vivian's is: he will also enslave my people to do his whim, and it is frowned upon in our kingdom for men to marry..." Yami looked down slightly at this part. "My kingdom will hate my reign, if I marry either one."

The king frowned in thought. "Those are things to consider... but as you will be the head of the family in either choice, you will be able to rule over your spouse's actions. So it is only a minor problem."  
The queen smirked victoriously as Yami growled softly in anger.

Yami glared up at them for a moment, when suddenly an idea came to mind. "But it still wouldn't be right for me to marry either of them." Yami smirked.

The King and Queen blinked in confusion, but the Queen's face turned into a stern look when she processed the statement, as Yami explained.  
"I have not rescued Vivian from dragons or ogres nor have I tried to break a curse placed upon her. Neither has Ziegfried done anything of the sort for me. Has that not been a tradition in our family for the last 3 centuries?" Yami smirked, sarcastically.

The King looked slightly thoughtful. "Well... I suppose we could think of something..."

But the queen quickly shot them both down "Yami! Since when have you cared for tradition, or anything proper other then studies? Last I recall, you've hated anything proper your whole life! The only time you ever behave as such has been in public events, but at home, you are nothing but a stubborn child."

Yami glared heatedly. "But that was exactly my point earlier, wasn't it? I **am** a child. Law required that I must find a spouse before my 21 birthday. I have a good 3 or 4 years to-" "YAMI!"  
The prince immediately quieted at his mother's tone. "You will marry Princess Vivian of Great-Wall, no more excuses, exceptions or arguments." Yami opened his mouth, but she glared very fiercely and said in a cold tone, "I shall send the seamstresses to your room in an hour or so. You are dismissed."

And with that, Yami left the room, clenching his eyes and teeth tight.

* * *

Yami walked into his room, sighing when he saw his twin brother, Yugi, laying on his bed.

Yami and Yugi were identical in almost every thing except detail in looks. The two had hair that shot up into a sort of star shape; the colors faded from black to purple and amethyst. Golden, lightning shaped bangs lined their face, and hair.

Yugi only had a few, along with one that dangled on his forehead, which complimented his wide, innocent, shining purple eyes. His face was slightly round, his cheeks clinging to the very last of his baby fat, giving him a childish look. But a spark of mischief and play shined brightly in his innocent eyes, showing he was a force to be reckoned with in some regards.

Yami had more bangs, some of which shot up into his black and red mane, and complimented his eyes and face just as well as Yugi's but in a different way. Yami's eyes were a deep scarlet, and held a shine of wisdom beyond years, as well as a mischievous spark of his own, but it was slightly wilder, but only cause he did not let that part of his personality run out as much as Yugi did.

The said younger twin looked at Yami hopefully. "So, what did they say?"

Yami sighed and shook his head, earning a disappointed pout from Yugi. "I have to marry Vivian, no excuses."

Yami lied down on the bed, his throat a little tired from the verbal battle. His brother stood up and poured him a cup of cold water from a table near by and gave it to the elder prince.

"I can't say I'm surprised. You and mother have argued over every thing your whole lives... Well, since you were 12, at least."

Yami smiled at Yugi wistfully.

The two brothers knew of Yami's history in the palace very well, and Yami relaxed as his listened to Yugi talk about it all over again, content to hear his brother's voice and remember it all as his brother spoke.

"I remember when mother first found out about the extra fencing lessons you'd been taking.

You had been finishing your studies earlier then normal because you would wake up very early in the day. She had went to your room to see how you'd been doing with studies, but when she couldn't find you, she demanded to know where you were, and why you weren't studying.

She was fuming by the time the servants found you fencing."

Yami rolled his eyes and took a sip of water before commenting, "That was my fault. I wanted to do one more round before heading inside, and Duke didn't want to. But of course, Lady Swanly was nearby and wanted to watch us, and he wanted to impress her."

Yugi laughed. "Oh yeah. She sure was surprised when mother came out fuming. Thinking you were skipping studies." The elder twin scoffed, giving the wall a heated stare. Apparently, he wasn't completely out of fumes from the argument.

Yugi sighed and rubbed Yami's shoulders. "Should I be quiet?"

Yami shook his head and smiled. "No, keep going if you like."

The younger prince shook his head and sighed. "It's too bad mother made father stop allowing you to have fencing lessons. Maybe you could've gotten out of marriage by challenging Prince Ziegfried to a duel."

Yami shook his head. "I still would have had Vivian to deal with, mind you." He stated.

Yugi nodded in agreement to that. "Let me think, what happened next? Oh yeah, and then there were the extra Latin and magic lessons! Didn't it happen the same way as fencing? You'd finish studies early and blah blah blah?"

Yami raised a brow. "I would have put it differently but, yes, it was the same concept of being bored before dinner, sometimes just after lunch, and needing something to do."

The elder sighed and placed his chin in his palm as Yugi continued.

"You loved learning more Latin and magic than necessary. I would've mistaken you for me in that one incident with the Kuriboh if you hadn't been so embarrassed about it." Yami smirked sarcastically and commented in a dry, but playful voice, "Yes, if it had been you, Yugi, you would have been too busy hugging the little love monster to even notice its evil smirk of triumph at finding it's future mate."

The elder twin shivered in remembrance of the incident.

What had happened was: Yami had accidentally summoned a Kuriboh, and it had glomped him, and refused to let him go.

Mahad tried to send it back to wherever it had lived with a special type of teleporting spell that wouldn't transport the future king along with the evil fur ball.

But that spell didn't work, because Kuriboh got so mad about the whole thing of being separated from Yami, that it self destructed itself, and left Yami in nothing but tattered clothes and soot.

That had been a nasty business to clean.

Yugi tapped his chin in thought at that memory. "You know, the only reason mother made Mahad stop teaching you magic was because she thought you'd make a mistake and blow yourself up one day. Of coarse, that was after she saw you head to your bedroom after the Kuriboh incident. And the Latin had only stopped because you started to ramble off into Latin words when you were talking to people at balls!"

Yami nodded and chuckled. "Yes, but I don't blame Kuriboh for the magic lessons... much." Yugi laughed and hugged Yami, earning laughter from Yami as well.

"But I think," Yami said thoughtfully, after their laughter had died down a bit. "My best memory was from when I was 16. It was when mother saw me and you in the kitchen when we were making chocolate mousse.

"You were completely covered in melted chocolate and a little bit of flour, as you licked our fingers and laughed at the state I was in. And what a sight I was, indeed: in my royal clothes and royal crown; with my sleeves rolled up and chocolate on my face and arms and hands; in the middle of mixing ingredients in a huge bowl and the baker laughing as he tried to say I looked like someone making dessert for a dragon!"

Yugi went into hysterical laughter when Yami described the kitchen scene like that, and Yami soon followed, but his laughs were a bit more controlled, and much deeper then Yugi's.

The elder twin sighed and shook his head. "Not quite as funny as the Kuriboh problem but still my favorite. Mostly because mother looked absolutely horrified seeing you and me looking like a baker's sons."

Yugi sighed when he calmed down, rubbing the moisture from the corner of his eyes. "I still think you and Kuriboh would've made such a cute couple! You could've spoiled him rotten with chocolate mousse!"

Yami rolled his eyes at that remark and finished off his second cup of water and went for thirds, as Yugi stood up and began looking about the room.

Yami didn't have a lot of things packed for the journey they had made to Great Wall.

Just clothes and such.

At the time, Yami hadn't realized they were trying to marry him off. If he'd know, he probably would've packed more, or probably wouldn't have come at all, actually.

As Yugi continued to look around, he glanced at a small bejeweled carousel music box, which had been given to Yami by his father on his 6th birthday. Next to it, he noticed something protruding from a box... cloth?

Yami had taken a big gulp of water, when Yugi sat down next to him and showed him the cloth he found inside the box.

"Yami, what's this?"

The prince looked at the cloth and immediately spit his water into his cup to keep from causing a mess.

He set the cup down and snatched the fabric away. "Yugi! What have I told you about looking through another person's belongings?"

Yugi just smirked and leaned in close to his elder brother, liking the fun he was getting from this. "Is that the security blanket you had since you were 6?" He asked teasingly.

Yami felt a small tinge of red spread on his cheeks. "No." He lied.

The younger prince took the fabric back, much to Yami's disdain, and examined it.

It really wasn't blanket material; it was velvet like a cape, and there was a perfectly polished silver clasp with a small sapphire in its center. The fabric it's self was worn, but still a very pretty shade of blue, almost sky blue, but darker.

Yugi handed it back to his brother, who(to Yugi's surprise and shock) held it to his chest with a far away look in his eyes. "Yami? Are you still here?" Yugi called, waving a hand in front of the prince's face.

He sighed with slight relief when Yami immediately turned his gaze to Yugi's face, blinking.

Yugi crossed his arms and gave Yami a stern look, trying to look menacing... it wasn't working.

All Yugi managed to do was make his brother wonder whether or not the boy could get any cuter.

"Alright, tell me where you got that, I know it must be a good story."

Yami shook his head, a smile formed on his lips as he fingered the fabric. "Well... alright, I guess I should have told you about it sooner." He said with a small sigh and turned so he was facing Yugi, who was now laying on his stomach, with his arms crossed and his chin resting on top of them.

The crown prince held the clasp in his hands as he began.

"It all started on our 6th birthday, at the ball...."

* * *

(Flash Back: Note: Any OCCness up next is because Yugi and Yami are 6 years old, their kids!)

A 6 year old Yami laughed as he and two other princes played a game of tag, but cleverly disguised as a dance, so the grown-ups wouldn't scold them.

Their parents saw through this facade quite easily, but made no move to stop them as long as the children were content and not causing trouble. Yugi stood next to his mother, watching with a look of longing to play on his face.

Yami glanced at him and saw Yugi's face, he rushed over in a heartbeat and grasping Yugi's hands. "Brother! Come play!" Yugi looked very hesitant. "I don't know Yami... do you think they'd want me to?" The said twin nodded, vigorously and led Yugi towards the group. "Of course! You're the best runner in the palace, besides me, of course." Yami said the last part as a joke, raising his nose and chin, pretending to look very stuffy and aristocratic. Yugi giggled at his brother and before he knew what was happening, he found himself chasing the others in their "dancing" circle.

After playing a few running games, Yami left the group to go find something to eat. He had just grabbed a biscuit from the table, set out for guests to choose food from, when a voice called, "Hey, you!" Yami turned to see the three eldest children standing in front of him, giving him very ugly looks.

Yami blinked and frowned at them. "What is it?" He asked slowly.

The boys gave him very strange smiles, and asked him to come with them. "Why?" Yami had asked, nibbling a little at his biscuit.

"We wanna play a game, but we need you to play it." The eldest said with a smirk.

Yami, being very attracted to games, shrugged cautiously. "Okay, sure... where do we play it?"

The three told him they would show him, and lead him out of the banquet hall.

No one noticed them leave... except for a lone boy in the corner.

Yami had turned his head, feeling someone staring, and saw the boy there with his arms crossed and leaning against the wall. "Can we ask him to play too?" Yami asked, pointing. The three stiffened and ushered him out with "no"s and "we only need four"s.

Blue eyes narrowed with suspicion.

When the four finished walking, they were in the royal gardens. "Why are we here?" Yami asked slowly, turning to the four older and much taller boys.

They only smirked, one cracked his knuckles while the other two just leered and smirked at him. The fourth one grabbed Yami's hair roughly, making him cry out in pain. "Because we wanted plenty of room to play, you prissy little brat." Yami glared at his captor, growling in rage at the names. "Why are you doing this? What do you want?!" He demanded, hands reaching up to try and get away, but the older and much stronger boy had a grip like iron.

"We're doin' this because we can and we want to! And you deserve no better, you spoiled little pig"

Yami yelped as the older boy, obviously the leader, yanked his hair ruthlessly and shoved him to the floor on his back, holding the six year old down by placing his right foot over the boy's shoulder. "And to answer your earlier question, we're going to show you how a brat like you should act," Yami grunted in pain as the older boy pressed on his shoulder even harder. "Dead."

The little prince watched with growing fear as the other three started towards him and his captor.

There wasn't anytime to lose. Yami grabbed at the leg moving it up just enough to bite deeply into the leader's flesh.

An ear piercing cry of pain went through the air as Yami quickly ran down the paths of the gardens, hoping that he was heading the right way back to the party. He needed to get to his parents! He knew he'd be safe with them!

But as the three other boys began chasing and gaining on him, and the garden paths seemed endless, his faith of getting to his parents before he would get hurt was fading.

Yami felt tears of fear come to his eyes as he maneuvered through the plants, relief filling his chest for a moment when he thought he lost them. But a moment later, he screamed in fright as a grabbed at his shoulder ruthlessly, just barely missing him but it did the trick as Yami tripped over his own feet and fell.

The little prince screamed and cried as fists and boot clad feet mercilessly hit and kicked him, most of the hits aimed towards his abdomen and back, along with one nasty kick to his head.

**(Flash back ends)**

Yugi stared in horror and shock as Yami paused to drink some water. "Why didn't you tell me?! Why have I only heard this now, from you?"

The crown prince shrugged. "I did not need to worry you at the time. I told mother and father not to tell you as well, that is why you have not heard of it until now."

Yugi huffed and glared at his elder brother, feeling very overprotective now. Vivian would be in trouble if she laid a hand on Yami tonight at dinner.

But Yugi sighed after a moment.

"I suppose it doesn't really matter at this point. Any way, get on with the story, what happened next?" He asked, anger at Yami's childhood tormentors and Vivian fading in favor of his curiosity and interest at the story.

The elder twin nodded and cleared his throat. "Well, I managed to get away again a minute later, but I was very tired and bruised. I felt weak, I couldn't run much longer, so I left the path and hid behind the largest statues in the garden."

**(Flash Back starts)**

Yami sobbed softly, body shivering from the cold of the night as he moved behind one of the statues in the garden. It was actually a group of statues, people all sitting or standing together, frozen in time as they conversed about merry things and pleasant times past.

The prince sat down behind them, there large stone bodies hiding him rather well. Tears of fright and pain ran down his face as he cradled his temples, his head aching badly from the blow he'd been given. In the dim light of the moon, he could see very little, and as he opened his eyes, he found his vision was becoming even less helpful, as things began to tilt and sway in his pained state of mind.

He whimpered when he heard foot steps approach, and he hid his face in his arms, curling up into the tightest and smallest ball he could muster at the moment.

Warm hands touched his shoulder, making him whimper loudly. But this person shushed him and gently rubbed his shoulder, as if to comfort him a little.

Confused, Yami lifted his head and opened his eyes, only to close them again as a throbbing, electric pain ran through his skull and into his eyes.

He couldn't stop the loud sob that ripped from his lips as more feet could be heard approaching.

"There you are you li-" Yami heard gasps of horror and surprise. "Prince ---!"

**(Interjection)**

"Why didn't you say his name?"

"Huh? Oh! Well, to tell the truth...*Scratches head sheepishly*

"I was so tired and scared that I didn't hear that part, sorry."

"*groans* Alright, go on, sorry for interrupting."

"Okay, um, let's see... "Prince!"

**(Interjection ends)**

"We-we're just-"

The voice interjected them, but Yami winced at the cold and loud tone. "Assaulting the crown prince of Solar Haven? Get out of here right now before I send for the guards, which I may do anyways!"

Yami heard 3 pairs of scampering feet as they raced off in terror, but he didn't care as he continued to try and get rid of the pain in his head.

The 6 year old prince flinched and whimpered when he felt a hand gently stroke his back.

Yami looked up at his savior, his vision was now blurry as well as painful. "Wh-Who... who are you?" He asked softly, seeing nothing but colors.

Blue... gray, no silver... black... or was that brown? He couldn't tell, because they kept moving and tilting, and he had to close his eyes, the pain was intense.

The stranger shushed him and Yami felt the person gently lift him up, cradling the crown prince in his arms in a bridal fashion.

"It doesn't matter. I need to take you inside; it's getting colder out here." Yami snuggled into the person's warmth, breathing in the scent of tress, and a hint of spearmint.

"Okay... my head hurts so much... and I wanna sleep so badly..." Yami whimpered out, clinging to the stranger as he began walking, being very careful with the young prince.

"Alright, but I will need to inform someone of what happened." Yami shook his head. "N-no... It's fine. No one needs to know." He felt the grip on him tighten and he flinched when he heard a growl from his rescuer.

"Are you stupid? Those three are sons of nobles here. If that's how they feel about you, think of what their parents are like!" Yami whimpered at his tone and volume. He heard a sigh and a hand gently rubbed his back again, when he spoke again he used a softer tone, but it was still stern.

"I have to tell them about this... otherwise they might try and hurt you again, or Yugi, your brother. You wouldn't want that would you?" Yami stiffened at this, pain momentarily forgotten as anger and the urge to protect his brother ran through him. "No... they can't hurt Yugi... I won't let them." The stranger chuckled.

"I thought as much." Yami sighed and moaned in pain as the throbbing came back with gusto.

Silence came over them for awhile, Yami almost drifted to sleep more than once, but he wanted to see this person's face so badly...

Yami felt his rescuer stop a few minutes later.

"Are you asleep?" he asked.

Yami moaned out a small 'no' as he felt himself being lowered onto a soft bed, but he immediately missed the warmth of the stranger.

But it was quickly returned as he felt warm hands gently move over his sore areas.

Yami gasped as he felt a strange, tingling sensation coarse through those areas, and the stranger's hand seemed to warm up to a very high level. He would learn later on from his teacher, Mahad, that this was healing magic he was feeling.

Though the hand was hot, it never stayed in one place long enough for it to be uncomfortable, but as the stranger's hand moved over his face and through his hair, gently massaging his scalp and temples, he couldn't help but cry out in pain.

He heard a small "sorry", as a much cooler hand gently stroked his forehead comfortingly, as the hot one continued to weave over the back of his head. "It'll be over in a minute. Magic is always painful when used on head injuries."

Yami sighed as it finally ended a minute later, but he suddenly felt incredibly tired, and couldn't bring himself to open his eyes.

He felt the stranger move away, his warmth missing from Yami's body once again.

"Wait... Stay with me?" He asked, holding his hands out like an infant would when it wanted its mother.

He heard a chuckle and felt lips on his brow. "I can't, uncle would be mad... here, keep this with you."

Yami felt something being placed over him; he smiled when he found it smelled like his rescuer.

"Will I see you again?" Yami asked timidly, sleep grasping tightly at him now.

The stranger hummed in thought for a moment. "I don't know. Maybe, someday... take care. And try not to get into anymore trouble like that, promise?"

Yami nodded slowly and sighed out "I promise..." just before he fell into a deep sleep.

**(Flash Back Ends)**

Yami took another gulp of water and sighed. "When I woke up, I was alone, tucked under the covers. The cape your holding was laying over me though, and as you can see, I kept it."

Yugi nodded, but frowned and asked, "What happened to those boys? Do you know?" Yami shrugged.

"They were part of the Landis Family, you know the ones who tried to poison father and mother 4 years ago?" The younger nodded.

Yugi smiled softly as Yami got that far away look again, taking the cape back and brushing out invisible dust and wrinkles away.

The boy giggled and the elder twin frowned at Yugi. "What?" The youngest gave Yami a knowing look. "Your attracted to your rescuer, aren't you?"

Yami almost fell of the bed. "Wh-what? How would you know?"

Yugi shrugged. "I just think so. But it's true isn't it?" The crown prince opened his mouth to defend, but frowned in thought, closing his mouth in favor of nodding for a moment. "Yes. I always had him in the back of my mind... and I know if I even try to court someone else, he'll still be in the back of my mind until I either find him, or I forget him." Yugi chuckled and sat up, moving to Yami's side to hug him. "I'm sure you'll find him. And if he really is a prince, maybe you can see if he'll make a good match for you."

Yami smiled and shrugged. "Maybe."

* * *

A moment later, the doors opened revealing the seamstresses their mother had sent. Yugi was ushered out of the room, and poor Yami found himself being forced to pick cloth and then take off his shirt to get measured for the clothing.

The seamstresses enjoyed that part.

Yami didn't even get more than two words out during the whole process, unless the seamstress asked questions, and after he answered she wouldn't let him say anything else.

An hour later, he was ready to take his hair out with frustration. Thankfully, the seamstresses left.

Yami immediately pulled his shirt back on and left his room, face red with rage and fists clenched.

He needed to go outside for a little while, and he was determined to try and think of some way to get out of marrying Vivian.

The crown prince walked through the enormous castle till he came to the royal gardens. The flowers of the season were all bright, beautiful colors, most of them in bloom. It was all red, yellow, baby blue, purples and powder colored pinks. He moved through the flowers slowly, feeling his body relax and his temper leave him as he continued to smile and gaze at the colors. This was one of the only bright sides of the journey to Great-Wall; it was always known to have flowers: either they were in green houses during the harsh winters, or in the large meadows during the spring and summer months.

The garden was styled in a traditional Chinese garden, with a stream running through it, a few waterfalls and a bridge so you could cross over the stream to see the large pond that was filled with blooming lotuses and waterlilies in the late summer season.

Yami paused on the bridge, leaning his arms against the railing and staring into the water.

Small fish were either moving to or from the pond or swimming in the small stream. The ones moving against the current mostly stayed in one place as they desperately tried to move away from the large body of water.

Yami sighed; they looked a lot like him, at this point. Stuck in one place, desperately trying to get away from the rules and people that were trying to force him into marriage without any say from him...

The prince moved on, slowly following the cobble stoned path as he made his way towards the lily pond, thoughts of his future and present life running through his mind.

In his pondering, he didn't notice a pair of eyes watch him from a far as he sat down by the bank of the pond.

Birds were quiet for a moment as they watched the human sitting near their resting place, seeing if he'd try and attack. But as they saw he had no interest in their tree at all, they went back to their cheerful song and play with one another.

But they stopped when they saw another person moving towards the pond.

Yami blinked when he heard feet approaching, and when he looked up, he saw it was a servant. From the muddy state of the man's overalls and boots, Yami accurately guessed he was a gardener.

The man's face was a bit dirty, but handsome and young, with its high cheek bones and slight almond shape. His hair was rusty red and was pulled back in a messy ponytail to keep mud out of it, and his eyes were a sparkling emerald green. Yami wouldn't have been able to compare a real emerald to their brilliance, and they seemed to hold wisdom beyond the years of the oldest man, as well as playfulness of a little child's eyes.

The young man stood beside the young prince, his arms resting against a shovel, which was muddy and worn from years of hard work. He gave Yami a large, friendly, toothy grin. His teeth were abnormally clean for a peasant's...

"Afternoon, your highness. What brings you to my lily pond?" He said cheerfully, his voice was deep but good natured.

Yami smiled and shrugged at the man as he sat down beside him. "I'm not really sure... I guess I thought it could help me think."

The gardener nodded at Yami's words. "Well you picked the perfect spot. This is a very good place to think." He then moved over to the side of the pond, rolled up his sleeves, put the shovel down and got on his knees, pulling at unwanted weeds and such on the bank of the water.

Yami sighed and went back to his thoughts, leaving the two in a comfortable silence as the crown prince tried to think of something to stop his mother from marrying him off to Princess Vivian. As he tried to think of something, he watched the gardener as he continued his work, pulling at weeds and unwanted water plants. The man stopped after awhile and rubbed his hands in the water before turning to look at Yami.

"Is there a certain thing on your mind?" The man asked, wiping his hands dry on the front of his overalls as Yami nodded. "Yes..." the prince said with a sigh, "Yes, there is."

The stranger smiled his friendly smile and sat down beside Yami.

"Would you like to tell me about it? Maybe I can help you." The gardener smiled.

Yami opened his mouth to gently decline the offer, but then he stopped... maybe this man could help him. Or at least give him some advice.

So for the next half hour, Yami found himself explaining all about the cooking lessons, the extra fencing, all the way to the arranged marriage. When he finished telling the stranger about his 'conversation' with his parents, the man gently shook his head and clucked his tongue.

"That is a problem." He said with a thoughtful frown.

Yami nodded in agreement, glaring at the water as he grumbled out, "I'd rather be eaten by a dragon sooner than marry that stuck up witch."

The man idly scratched his scalp as he replied, "What about working for one, instead?"

Yami blinked and stared at the gardener in confusion. "Work for a dragon? But only princesses-" But the prince checked himself, and hummed in thought. "That could possibly work... but normally, only princesses get kidnapped by them. I'd have to get extremely lucky to find a dragon that would want to kidnap me."

The gardener laid down in the grass, arms folded behind his head. "For one to kidnap you, yes, but not if you volunteered to do it." Yami looked at the gardener again, frowning in confusion. "Volunteered? But how would I find any dragons who'd even think about have a man do a princess's work?"

The gardener shrugged. "Men have taken women's work before, there's nothing immoral about cleaning and organizing. And it's an honest living for anyone. I'm sure some dragons would agree with that logic."

Yami nodded. "I suppose your right... but what about my family's kingdom? What about Yugi? I can't just abandon them..." the gardener shrugged and sat up again. "You'll need to think about it and make that decision on your own. But I recommend talking to your brother about it, and see what he thinks. When you've made your decision, come back here, and I'll see what I can do to help you if you decide to leave."

He then stood up and grabbed his shovel. "Now I must be on my way, until later, your highness." The gardener gave the prince a bow of respect before he headed off down the path, heading back to where he'd been digging earlier.

Yami sighed and stood up, wiping off his clothes and glancing up at the sky as he began heading inside, seeing that it was sunset. He decided that he would talk to his brother about this idea of working for dragons after dinner.

He but suddenly paused as he was about to enter his room.

'I forgot to ask the gardener's name.'

* * *

Sam: Hope you liked it!

: Hope you didn't.

Joey and Sam: *Whacks Bakura with Rubber chickens*

Yami: What is wrong with you today?!

: Too close to Christmas, "Bah! Humbug!"

Yugi: And Partridge in a Pear Tree!

Seto: That was random.

Sam: And I'm heading out, so please review! I can't write very fast without the motivation! So if you want more **YOU NEED TO REVIEW!!!**

Yugi.M: Please read, review and be kind about critiques, which will be kindly received if they are not **RUDE**!  
Also **NO FLAMMING**! **s2Teenovelist** and **Sam** have put a lot into this, and would like positive responces!

Sam: And I'm heading out, so **please review**! I can't write very fast without the motivation! So if you want more **YOU NEED TO REVIEW!!!**

Yugi: Preview!

Joey: **Next time, Yami gets directions from a gardener and heads out to find a new life.  
But will he get more then he bargained for when eh meets the 'friends' the gardener led him to? Only the author knows!**


	2. Chapter 2

Sam: *sighs* FINALLY! I've been waiting for this chapter to get pulled out of my head.

Bakura: I had to practically wrench it out with a crowbar.

Sam: Oh, shut it, ya albino egyptian.

Bakura: What did you say?

Sam: Anyway, I hope you like the chapter, tell me what you think, and stuff.

Now, please** read **and** review**!

It helps me very much, with inspiration and how fast I write the next chapter. This one was pulled out of my brain by a reviewer, who I dedicate this chapter to! So thank you very much **YaoiFan1001!**

**Also, thank you s2Teensnovelist for betaing and helping me fix up this chapter!**

Chapter 2: The Decision

Yami walked through the halls, his pace quickening with each step as he began to run back to the gardens.

One week.  
One week since his encounter with the gardener and it was a miracle of his will that he'd survived. At first he was hesitant to follow the advice out of respect for his parents, but not after this humiliation. He'd spoke to Yugi, had obeyed his parents wishes, and had finally been through that horrific scene, which happend less then 24 hours ago.

He thought everything through as well as he could, considering every possible outcome, and only showed any promise. His pace quickened once again as the event that led him to this decision flashed in his mind.

* * *

After returning from his conversation with the gardener, Yami had been quickly ushered into proper evening attire, consisting of a crimson red tunic with gold, lining the hem, and a symbol of a blazing sun on the front: the royal mark of Solar Haven. Under the tunic, he wore a black sleeved shirt and black tights; red shoes adorned his feet.

After getting away from his fussy servants, Yami headed for the dining room, soon joined by Yugi, who was dressed in a similar tunic to Yami's but the colors were lavender and white.

Dinner was uneventful, but alas things quickly escalated downhill once it finished.

First of the calamity, a surprise ball started right after the meal. It infuriated both princes, Yami especially. Not only did it result in Vivian clinging to him for dances the entire time, but he couldn't get a word in edge wise about speaking to Yugi.

But that wasn't the end of the problems, because only a good 2 hours after the ball had commenced, the prince and Vivian were brought to Yami and Vivian's parents, and it was announced to the whole ballroom that the two were engaged, and would be married within a week. Too shocked to scream, Yami remained silent.

Yami had not been able to talk to Yugi that night, for said boy had been just as busy dancing with every other eligible girl because the poor kid just couldn't say 'no'. Yami could also feel their mother watching both princes like a hawk during the entire ball, and Yugi had probably been very desperate to have something to distract him from the balls of fire called mother's eyes.

Unfortunately, Yami didn't get to talk to Yugi much the next few days either. The two barely had time to see each other, let alone enough time to talk alone.

The reason, of course, was Yami's parents. Both Aky and Snow could tell, the previous night that Yami was less than pleased about the sudden announcement of the marriage. Believing it would be better for them both, they decided that maybe, if Yami and Vivian 'courted', the future king wouldn't feel so upset. 'Courting' had included horseback riding, a small jousting competition and to top it off, a romantic day at the beach, none of which Yami was thrilled about.

xxxxxx

To the princess' humiliation, however, Vivian mucked all three occasions. Terrible at horseback, Vivian, fell right off her horse and landed in the middle of a swampy pond. Not even trying to control herself, Vivian swore up a very colorful storm. The King had been a little discontented by this behavior, as did the Queen. Yami smirked hoping that maybe today wouldn't be a total bad thing. It would certainly help his parents see that maybe Vivian wasn't the best choice.

Next day, it took so long for the princess to finish cleaning and dressing herself in fancy dress and make-up for the tournament, that they were almost late. Fortunately, the family managed to get there on a fashionable kind of late.

Yami hadn't minded the tournament so much, mainly because his parents got to see even more of her true colors. She'd flirted and practically made out with every man that had a high rank in the boxes. Yami had felt very glad that his father had looked disturbed. However, Mother had been too busy talking to an old friend from way back to notice anything at the time, much to Yami's chagrin.

Yami had won, but was horrified to learn one of his 'prizes' was a kiss from Vivian. Yami was appalled; he hadn't even done his hardest to win, because he didn't want any prizes. Unfortunately, he'd either misjudged his jousting abilities, or the knights in Great Wall didn't want that certain 'prize' either.

Either way Vivian almost got a one-sided French kiss but Lady Luck had chosen to bless the poor prince. In her excitement to get to Yami and kiss him she'd tripped over the steps, went toppling out of the royal boxes, and went head first into a mud puddle. Unfortunately for poor Vivian, who Yami was starting to feel just a little sorry for, the puddle was not filled with just water.

But all compassion Yami felt for the princess vanished the next day, while at the beach. Not only did the girl try to convince him in hushed tones more than once to ditch Yami's parents and go do very improper things, but when it was near sunset she'd even tried to tackle and kiss him.

Yami narrowly escaped the kiss this time by racing off yelling 'Tag'. Vivian had practically screamed and chased after him. Any hope she'd had that he might run out of site of their chaperons was shot down the moment Yami rushed over to his father. Aknamkanon, who had seen that Vivian tried to do, and was by no means pleased, grinned a rather mischievous smile at his son and grabbed Yami, yelling, 'I'm it!' Enough was enough, Aky decided, not at all happy about what Vivian had been scheming for the past week. His son deserved a break from the stress.

Much to Snow's displeasure, her husband and her son were soon playing like children. Vivian, deciding to make this a chance to impress upon the Queen, quickly moved to stand by her side and remarked she would have no part of this 'foolishness'.

Yami and the King's game died quickly, but they'd both given Vivian pretty sharp looks, identical in every way, including their meaning.

'You're a bitch.'

xxxxxxx

That night, Yami had finally gotten Yugi in his room. The two discussed the past few days, and then the conversation Yami had with the gardener almost a week ago.

"So are you going to hear what he has in mind then?" Yugi asked, cross legged on the bed, hands on his knees. Yami, who was lying on his back and playing with a lock of blond hair shrugged. "I need to think about it a little more... and maybe I won't have to. Father seems to finally be catching on about Vivian, and mother too, just not as quickly."

Yugi hummed in agreement, looking at the blue velvet cape lying on the desk, neatly folded.

"What will you do if it doesn't work out when you leave?" The smaller boy asked, crawling closer and laying beside his brother.

Yami let go of his hair in favor of resting his arms on his stomach. "Well, that's why I've been taking awhile to think it over... because if I leave here, I am not coming back unless... something bad happens."  
Yugi nodded then smirked slightly as a thought came to mind. "Like me being engaged to Vivian instead?" Yami groaned with disgust and gave Yugi a look. "Please do not even try to joke about that Yugi." Yugi snickered half-heartedly anyway and Yami huffed indignantly.

The two stayed silent for awhile, both thinking of the possible events to come.

Soon, Yugi gripped Yami's arm. "You... promise you won't do anything rash while I'm not there to help... right?"

Yami bit his lip, nodding as his stomach formed a knot. He really didn't want his brother to be harmed or betrothed to someone while he was away...and if that meant make an additional decision so be it.

xxxxx

The final straw to trigger Yami's decision was cast, when Vivian had confronted Yami the next evening, while he'd been in the stables brushing his horse:

"Your highness, may I speak with you?" She said batting her eye lashes.

Pausing, the prince gave her a sharp look and went back to brushing his horse, replying coldly. "If you must."

Vivian pouted and crossed her arms. "Oh, Yami, dear. Why must you play so hard to get? We are to be married after all."

Yami bit back a very colorful remark and settled for a calm retort "But it is not my choice."

Vivian either didn't hear him, or ignored him and went on. "Anyways, I came to talk to you about our behavior at the beach." Yami gritted his teeth. The horse snorted, sensing a change in his master's attitude, but Yami kept brushing and the horse relaxed slightly. "You mean _your_ behavior." Yami corrected harshly.

Vivian frowned at that, and started again. "Now, I would like to apologize for asking such a question in front of your parents." Yami paused and looked at Vivian in slight surprise, but caution kept him in check. "Are you?"

Vivian nodded, sighing loudly. "I knew that was not the proper time nor place... after all, your parents would certainly take offence, but I wasn't thinking about that at the time and I apologize." Yami nodded and continued brushing. "So I'm asking you now!"

Yami almost bashed the brush into Vivian's skull. "Excuse me?" He asked in a cold, infuriated voice.

Vivian beamed. "Come, Yami, let's go to my room. No one will bother us there, and since we'll be married in 3 days anyways, it won't make a difference. Even you're parents won't mind."

The horse gave a neigh and stamped his hoof. Yami looked ready to tear Vivian's head off. "I refuse! I will not do anything like that with you, before _or_ after we are married. Understand that!" It was a statement not a question.

Vivian gawked, staring at Yami in horror, but cleared her throat. "Now, Yami! You don't really mean that! After all, you will need produce heirs for our kingdom. So why not start now? And any way, you'll be marrying me whether you like it or-"

"Vivian!" Yami's response wasn't a yell, but it was sharp enough to stop her. Yami put the brush away and grasped the horse's halter. "I would rather die than have a child with you! If I had my way, I would not be within 50 miles of you! I refuse to have a child that will no doubt be spoiled and defiled by your ways and greed! Understand this! The answer is no! If you agreed to this marriage thinking that, then I'm sorry to disappoint you but you're mistaken, so I suggest you cancel this fantasy or yours or you will die childless since I highly doubt your virtue!"

He left to close lead the horse into its stall then moved to close the door. But that had been a mistake to turn his back to Vivian.

Vivian clawed at him, long finger nails digging into Yami's flesh as he was pushed to the stable floor. He was stunned and found himself pinned with Vivian above him. Her voice was low and vicious. "Listen, darling. Your parents have already signed the royal marriage contract, and my parents won't let it be broken, not by you or your parents." She smirked. "In other words, you're mine whether you want to or not! Not that it matters now. It seems your foolish parents are far too naïve! Too bad they didn't realize who they sold their son to." Yami, who'd been too stunned to react, snarled when Vivian spoke like that, and rubbed her crotch against his suggestively. Yami seized her shoulders, ripping the harlot of him.

Climbing to his feet, he panted for breath, enraged at Vivian's actions. Vivian ran at him, but he grabbed her by her hair, smacked her, and threw her to the ground. Stunned, Vivian simply laid there, shock at being slapped. Yami gave her one more look, and then ran.

She scrambled to her feet but Yami was already outside the stables, and servants were starting to appear. Snarling in outrage Vivian looked at herself. Her clothes were covered in dirt and hay from being thrown and slapped to the ground.

She rubbed her cheek, wincing at the feeling. She was sure to bruise, and she wouldn't be able to attend any parties till it healed!

Marching out, she also moved into the castle to clean off the filth she was covered in. She'd be sure to tell a very good lie. She knew that she couldn't say anything that was too unbelievable, but she would have Yami's parents scolding him very harshly!

xxxxx

Vivian hadn't come to dinner, but Yami soon found out why.

The next morning, his mother stormed into his room and chewed his ear out for almost 3 hours straight and he was grounded to his room till dinner.

Vivian had told a lie that Yami had lost his temper about the whole marriage and had slapped her out of nowhere.

The scolding his mother gave was cut shorter then she'd wanted, for the King had intervened and told the queen Vivian's mother wished to speak with her.

Once the Queen was gone, the King simply gave Yami an emotionless look, and left him alone in his room.

Unsure whether to cry or scream, Yami did both. That was it. If his own parents weren't going to see their wrongs and change his fate he would do it himself.

He'd made his decision.

* * *

Now 2 days before the wedding, his grounding finished, and the prince finally found the garden. He moved swiftly down the cobble stoned path in his haste to find the gardener.

Once he crossed the bridge, he saw him. He was weeding the lily pond again, a pleasant smile on his face as he hummed an old tune. The gardener looked up, and smiled a toothy smile as the prince approached; the clean pearls contrasting against his dirty clothes and tanned skin.

"Your highness! Have you come about our conversation earlier this week?" Yami nodded, face set in a determined frown. "Yes... I'd like to hear what you have in mind-." He paused in realization. "Oh, I'm sorry, but I don't know your name."

The gardener stood and wiped his hands on his overalls. "Aaron's the name, and I'd be glad to. Come and sit with me." Moving under the tree, Aaron sighed happily as he sat down. Yami followed suite and faced Aaron.

The gardener wiped his brow and began. "Now, this is what you'll do. Tomorrow, in the morning you-"

"Yami!" The two looked back and saw Yugi racing over. "I'm coming with you."

Said brother gaped. "Wh- Really?" Yugi nodded, his face set in determination, though still smiling. "I can't let you go having adventures without me. You'll get in trouble, or you'll get all stubborn and then you'll get eaten by an insulted dragon or something."

Yami blushed then glared indignantly. "You sound as if I need you to survive." Yugi grinned. "Only until you learn to let go of your silly pride."

Aaron smiled and patted the grass beside him. Yugi smiled and sat down, and any argument Yami tried to conjure up in his mind was forgotten as Aaron began to explain their means of escape.

xxxxxxx

King Aknankonnon sighed as he found his and his wife's bedroom, prepared for a conversation he knew his wife would not want to here, but if he didn't put his foot down now, he knew he'd regret for the rest of his life. Already, he was beginning to regret his rash decision concerning his son's future and kicking himself for his impulsiveness. He knew Yami must've had good reason for being so against his marriage, and his son's shock and horror when the engagement was announced was only the first slap. The entire week, it was like the universe itself was screaming at him, and last night's episode was the final straw.

"Snow, we need to talk."

The king stood in the entrance to the bathroom, his wife in her nightgown. She was a beauty among many and the king felt she looked much more attractive when her hair was down, rather than in the bun she usually wore. Her hair had a few strands of gray now, for their age, but she had barely a wrinkle on her. The king couldn't say the same for himself, but he was grateful that almost all his wrinkles were bent into a smile around his lips.

Snow was brushing her black locks, which curled pleasantly around her face as her chocolate brown eyes stared at her husband's reflection in the mirror. "About what, dear?"

The king's face turned serious. "Vivian and Yami."

Snow stopped mid stroke at that look. She quickly finished and pulled it up into a high ponytail, her hair falling down to mid chest. Leaving the bathroom, she took her husband's arm and let him lead her to the bed. It wasn't as comfortable as their own bed, but the queen knew it was only because one's own home was usually more comfortable then a visitor's home.

She sat on the bed as her husband kissed her brow, but his face was serious, still. "I'm thinking... this might not be such a good idea. This marriage. When Yami approached us almost a week ago and asked us to let him find his own spouse, I thought that he was simply being stubborn. But now I think our son is right. I think we've severely misjudged _who _Princess Vivian really is."

Snow stared in shock at her husband then frowned. "Why would you think that? She seems to be a fairly proper girl, and has at least a little more dignity then a certain prince and king." She was obviously referring to the beach scene. But she stopped resisting her spouse when he gave her a very hard look. It was the one he usually reserved for Yami and Yugi when they'd done something _really _bad and was about to give them both a good tongue lashing and a spanking.

She kept her mouth tightly shut as her husband spoke. "Could you think of a better excuse to keep a lady from making unwanted advantages against you?" Snow said nothing, but her eyes widened in disbelief. "Vivian had shown very un-lady and princess like qualities. She swore and lost her temper when she fell during the horse ride. I would give her some pardon, for she seemed embarrassed that she could not ride very well. But her behavior at the royal boxes during the jousting tournament has expelled such an excuse from my mind, couple that with her behavior at the beach, I can't believe I let her façade fool me!"

Snow gave him a confused look. "Dear, what do you mean?" Aknamkanon paused remembering she'd been speaking with an old friend at that time; such excitement had no doubt caused her to block out all else.

The king knew this, and explained to her how he saw Vivian act towards all the men there.

Snow looked and felt very flustered and angered at herself for not noticing such a thing herself. The king gently stroked his wife's back. "Now, I know that Vivian must not be all bad... but I do not think such behavior is suited for our kingdom's needs. And, most importantly, our son's needs. Especially after last night, I didn't believe a word she spoke. We both know Yami has more control than that, and even if he did slap her, that should've been a beacon for the both of us that we made a mistake. I know it's important to you that Yami's, married, but it seems' we've both forgotten what is most important: our son's happiness."

Snow swallowed thickly. Realization made her sick with horror at herself. Her own actions had been very childish and impulsively for the past month. She hadn't failed to see how miserable her sons had been over the past while, but before she could fathom as to why, a good and very influential friend of hers, suggested that Yami was just lonely and should've been married already. "It'll get that fire tamed in no time! Then he'll behave like a proper prince!"

It seemed logical. Since then she'd been so fixated on getting Yami a wife afterwards that she'd forgotten to see if said spouse deserved her precious child. It never occurred to her Yami might disagree, or that he might even have someone else in mind. Hadn't he and Yugi always stayed up talking about some fellow with blue eyes, when all the courtiers had left?

Though she knew she hadn't shown it as much as she should have, she loved Yami very much. They were so alike, too much, she realized: her pride and fire clashed with Yami's indomitable spirit so easily, it only made sense they got into arguments that set off her impulsive nature and now she'd gone and promised her angel off to a selfish harlot!

She didn't cry, but she looked at the king with very upset eyes. "We need to stop this... this is all my fault! We must talk to Vivian's parents! I won't let my son be miserable for the rest of his life! I won't!"

Her husband smiled, and kissed her brow. "And we will. Tomorrow morning we will speak to Yami, and then we'll talk to Vivian's parents."

Snow felt she might really cry now. Her husband wasn't even angry with her, after all of this. "I don't deserve you." She whispered, but the king simply chuckled and kissed her lips. "Hush; there is no need to speak like that tonight." The queen smiled up at her husband. His face was always pleasant when smiling like that, with his purple eyes tinted red with their kind glow. His hair was a wonderful black, clean cut and he had a small beard with just small strands of gray.

The two embraced, and a very sweet kiss ensued. Yes, she didn't deserve this wonderful, understanding husband, but who did?

xxxxx

5 in the morning Aaron walked down the halls, smiling and waving at any servant or guard he saw in his friendly way. He held a lantern in one hand, which lit the way in the darkness of the morning.

Yami and Yugi were quiet as mice, holding each other's hands tightly, with their belongings strapped to their backs.

The plan was a simple one. Since Yami knew just enough magic, Aaron gave him a paper and ingredients for a spell of invisibility. Yami would use the spell to make him and Yugi invisible, and then they'd follow Aaron out of the castle and they'd travel together for awhile.

Said gardener was in front of them, walking towards the front gate now with his own pack of belongs over his shoulders.

The two siblings stayed quiet, making sure to move their feet as silently but quickly as they could to keep up with Aaron. Once at the gate, Aaron smiled at the gate keeper. "Good morning, Michael."

The guard smiled. "On your way back to the gypsy lady?" Aaron chuckled. "Indeed I am. I have my pay, and I need to pay my tab. Besides, I think she likes me." He winked, and the guard snickered. Giving the gardener a friendly slap on the back, he called, "Open the gate!"

Once the gate opened, Aaron shook Michael's hand. The signal.

Yami and Yugi dashed as quietly through the gate as quickly as their legs would carry them as Aaron said another good bye and headed out the door.

Once the gate was closed, the siblings followed Aaron down the path, through the small capital of Great Wall. Dawn was slowly rising, when they reached the outside and the two princes became visible again.

Yami wore a plain brown cotton tunic, as well as peasant pants and traveling boots. Yugi wore the same, but he had a gray belt wrapped around his waist, while Yami's was black. Both outfits provided by Aaron who was apparently very skilled with a needle.

The clothes weren't as comfortable as the princes were used to, but neither cared; they were too busy inspecting their bodies to make sure they were completely visible.

Yugi gave a sigh of relief and let go of Yami's hand to rub his neck. "I was a little worried there. I know it's silly, but I felt really awkward not being able to see myself." Yami nodded in agreement, while Aaron simply chuckled. "Yes, it is a bit strange. Now come, we must move on. They will discover your disappearance very quickly. The maids start their work in the bedrooms at 6."

With that said, the three quickly headed off, the road leading them into the forest.

They traveled for most of the morning and ate a breakfast of bread and cheese while they walked. They didn't really talk much, too intent on getting as far from the palace as possible.

They did stop to rest under the shade of an oak, cramps from eating and then walking annoyed Yugi and Yami a little. Sitting on one of the roots, Aaron mended a hole in his boot with a needle, thread and piece of extra leather.

Yugi sighed and looked at Aaron. "So, how does a gardener know how to sew?" The man chuckled and pushed a lock of red hair back from his face, attending to his work while he spoke. "Well, I'm not really a gardener. That's just a job to pay for my tabs at the gypsy's place."

Yugi smiled. "Who is this gypsy lady?"

Aaron's eyes twinkled and he smiled. "She's a traveler. She sells and mends things, and goes everywhere to gain magical and odd things to sell or trade. I've been staying with her for a long while now; she's been here for a lot longer than she's used to. "

Yugi blinked, while Yami smiled mischievously. "But is that all? What is she to you?"

Aaron smiled back and he winked. "A very special person..." Yami closed his eyes and chuckled. "Well, I hope she feels the same." Yugi nodded as Aaron bashfully rubbed his neck. "I hope so... I'm going to ask her to marry me soon. But I need to finish something first."

Yami and Yugi both asked, "Finish what?"

Aaron finished his needle work, a mischievous gleam in his eye. "It's a secret. Now come on, we have a good hour or so left, and I'll need to help you to get your job."

Yugi and Yami stood, wiping their clothes off and quickly followed Aaron as he headed down the forest road again.

Again, they didn't talk much, wanting to save their breath and energy for moving down the path.

Soon enough, they came to their destination. An old abandoned shack, leaning up against a

mountain side. Aaron pointed west of the hovel.

"A mile up that way, the Great Wall starts, blocking entrance and exit to or from the Enchanted Forest. These mountains in between the Wall are called the Mountains of Mourning. It's named so because during the fall and spring, it rains quite a bit. It's wonderful for the dragons, but the water rolling off the mountain would sometimes cause flooding. But since the dragons made a peace treaty with the Enchanted Forest, the dragons have used magic to channel the water to flow down streams towards the great river that runs alongside, but not into the Enchanted Forest. Remember; be careful up there in the fall and spring."

Yami and Yugi blinked, and nodded in understanding.

Smiling, Aaron moved up to the shack's old door, snapped his finger then knocked 3 times.

The two princes moved closer just in time to hear a voice call, "Enter."

Nodding at the two princes, Aaron opened the door and went in. The two royals followed, and Yugi closed the door.

He squeaked when the place went totally dark, and he gripped onto what he thought was Yami's arm.

A female voice spoke in the dark. "Aaron, are these the ones you spoke of 5 days ago?"

"They are, Akira." Aaron's voice came from the body Yugi was holding, so he let go bashfully and murmured a 'sorry, Aaron'. A hand patted his head and Yugi relaxed a little.

A deep, male voice that sent Yami and Yugi into goose bumps spoke next. "Well, what do you want us to do with them? Eat them?"

A clattering noise and snorts filled the room, Yugi found they must have been laughing, but now he was nervous. What was in this hovel? And why was there a kind of echo sound when people spoke, like they were in a palace court room?

"Aaron, where are we?" Yami asked.

Another deep voice but this one was younger, and slightly arrogant. "You are in the entrance of the Mountains of Mourning, human." Yugi blinked, noticing that the hand on his head wasn't moving. He reached up and touched it, heart skipping a beat in fear. The hand didn't have fingers, and it was smooth, but in a scaly way.

"I don't think we should eat them, this one's too cute." Yugi squeaked, and hid his face in the first body of cloth he felt, which sounded like Yami's. "Excuse me, but may we have some light? I would like to know who we are speaking with, and I would prefer you not scare my brother because of the lack of light."

Yugi huffed and raised his head to glare at where he believed Yami's head was. "Who said I was scared?"

But the arrogant voice spoke before Yami could reply. "We shall give you light."

A moment later, the room was lit with blue. A great fire, it looked like a bonfire, danced before them in flames of blue and white. Yami and Yugi tore their eyes from it to look about the room.

They were in a huge cave; it had to be at least the size of the court room in Vivian's palace, if not twice as big. Great, columns of rock, with beautiful carvings rose high above them, supporting the ceiling.

And all around them in the cave, either lying on rocks, sitting in front of the fire, or standing on strong armored legs, were dragons.

Sam: I like how this came out. Truthfully, I wish I'd given the king and queen their names last chapter and gave them more of a part. I'll probably end up revising that chapter, but it don't matter.


	3. Chapter 3

Sam: Happy Holidays and MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Bakura: damn, you were a lot better company whne you were depressed, what the hell happend?

Sam: Got to talk to a really good friend via phone, my mom got us a Wii for christmas, and the whole series of Princess Tutu for my birthday! KYA!

Bakura: *Cringes* Great, while your squealing, I'm going to bed.

Sam: It's 10 in the morning.

Bakura: Exactly. *Leaves room*

Joey: Awright, disclaimer time!

Sam: Not yet, dear! I have to comment on something.

To anyone reading this thing, Thank you so much for taking time to read my work. I think the cool thing about this story, is that with each chapter, I'm gettign a little bit better at writing. And maybe someday, I'll look back on this story, and I'll want to revise it to make it even better!  
But, until then, I'm just glad you all read this story, and I hope you will continue to do so!

And to my dear beta, **I LOVE YOU TO PEICES YOU BIG OL' SWEET HEART**! *Glomps Teenie* Your so kind for helping me, even with your school work and other stories to write!

Joey: Okay, Sma doesn't own the original story 'Dealing with Dragons' nor Yugioh, including me.

Sam: GASP! WHAT I don't own you! Bu-But! *Clings to Joey*

Joey: Aw, nuts. Read, review and fave everybody!

Sam: You know I'm kidding right?

Joey: Yes, Sammy, I know. :)

Sam: YAY! *Huggles*

* * *

Chapter 3: Dragons and Their Lairs

"Yami? Yami are you there? It's your father... We need to talk, please open the door." Aknamkanon called. He frowned when no reply came, and almost turned to leave, but determination to straighten things out grew. The king slowly opened the door, sighing when he found it unlock.

As he somewhat expected, the room was empty. But he noticed that the bed wasn't made and that there were pieces of paper laying on both the desk and the bed.

Moving over, he also saw that drawers were open and most of the fancier clothes Yami had brought were strewn across the floor. Highly doubting that Yami would throw a fit so childish, Aknamkanon began to worry.

He picked up the papers, looking over both familiar and unfamiliar hand-writing.

The paper in Yami's hand writing had notes and strange text, which Aknamkanon took a moment to realize were tips, advice and even direct instructions from spell books.

The unknown hand-writing was a spell, and at the top it said 'A Handy Trick for Disappearing.'

Aknamkanon felt a knot form in his stomach. He'd forgotten how impulsive his son could be. "I should have known this would happen if we waited," he murmured, giving the room another look around before rushing out and down the hall to Yugi's room.

"Yugi! Yugi, are you here?" The king called almost frantically as he opened the door without knocking. Yugi's room was cleaner, but he quickly saw that a couple drawers had clothes hanging out, and Yugi's desk was covered in papers. Aknamkanon scanned the desk for anything important, until he found an envelope with the word's "To: Mother and Father" written in Yugi's cursive.

"Aknamkanon? What are you doing in Yugi's room? And where's Yami?" The king turned at the sound of his wife's voice, and he knew by the look on her face that she also had realized that something was wrong. He turned to her with the letter in hand, and she went rigid.

Within moments, the two were sitting on the bed and the king pulled out the stationary and began to read it aloud.

" _'Dear Mother and Father._

_With time very low, I will make this brief._

_Yami and I have tried numerous times to make you understand our feelings about this arranged marriage, but clearly it has not worked. Vivian's behavior towards Yami, as well as others has made us very doubtful of any good things coming out of the marriage. _

_We've met someone who has shown us a way to resolve this __issue __in a somewhat traditional manner, as well as provide us with a possibly good life style. _

_As you've no doubt guessed by now, we have run away __from__ home to seek our fortune. This is usually the case with royals who do not wish to marry certain parties, so hopefully we won't bring the family name any bad rumors. As to what and where we are going, I'm not quite sure yet. However, I am certain that we will begin some quest, or become apprentices to some good person._

_Yami is rather excited about this, and I have decided to go on that note. He's always been rather prideful, and I'm pretty sure he'll need me to keep his excitement somewhat under control, though I'm beginning to wonder if anyone will calm his fiery personality. _

_Yami and I, though excited with adventure, are still somewhat disappointed in the turn of events. We never, well, at least I never, dreamed of leaving you without at least a blessing or a proper good-bye. But again, it seems this cannot be helped. I promise that once we've settled, I will write to you and tell you of our status and what has happened._

_I hope that when we are all together again, we can forgive each other and put all this horrid business about Vivian and Great-Wall behind us. However, for the time being, we've agreed to go with our new friend and see what awaits us out in the world. I certainly hope it's something to do with good fortune..._

_With love and best wishes for the whole family, Yugi.'_ "

Aknamkanon set the letter down, sighing as he rubbed Snow's shoulders. The queen had tears streaming down her face. The guilt was coming back from last night, coupled with the fact both their children were gone, and they had no idea where they were or if the two would be alright. The king wiped Snow's tears and kissed her brow before standing up.

"Come, my dear. They seem to know what they are doing, for the most part. And Yugi is right; it has been traditional for this sort of thing to happen." Snow glared and stood up, hands clasped tightly to her chest as her temper grew for a moment.

"Oh, blast tradition! Our only children are out there with a complete stranger, seeking fortune in a world they hardly ever had contact with!" Snow sniffled, and she greatly accepted the handkerchief that the king gave to her. Once she had cleaned her face, she looked to her husband with worried eyes.

Aknamkanon took her hands and kissed them, rubbing the knuckles with his thumbs as he spoke again. "Yes, our children have gone. But I trust that Yami will protect and care for his little brother, as will Yugi do for Yami. The two have always done their best when together. And frankly, I'm glad Yugi went with Yami. Our eldest has always been very confident, and Yugi has always kept it down to a slightly tamed point." He gently linked his arm with Snow's, and the two slowly walked out of the room, making their way to breakfast.

"For now, I think it best that we do our part and fix this horrible mess we have gotten ourselves into. Once we are finished here and have gone home, we will discuss this little more. However, we'll hold any real decisions until Yugi sends us the letter he promised. And I have a feeling that it will be coming very soon."

Snow seemed uncertain, but she slowly nodded. "Yes, I suppose that is all we can really do..." She smiled a little as they entered the dining area, thinking to herself, 'I'm sure the two will keep out of trouble. After all, what could possibly go wrong?'

* * *

Yami and Yugi were silent for a moment, their eyes glued to the huge, dragon filled cavern.

At least 5 dragons with different body shapes and colors, gazed at them intently. Yami noticed that among them there were four dragons who lied close together, were the nearest to the three humans.

Three of the dragons had white scales with a sheen of blue. Their eyes gleamed like sapphires, mistrusting and curious at the same time. Two of the three were plainly males: they possessed wide builds with no feminine thinness, except for in their strong but slender necks. Their heads were slightly round, but their eyes were sharp and a darker shade of blue. The third blue dragon and a black-scaled, red-eyed dragon were female: they were slim, their heads were sharper then the males, their width was smaller, but they were just as strong as the males. The female blue dragon's eyes were a lighter, slender shape.

The black female had many sharp scales, but Yami noticed that they didn't seem to do any harm to her white companion when their scales rested and sometimes rubbed against each other. Her eyes were also rounded but were gently sharp around the edges and she held her head in an elegantly proud way. It was as if she had a small respect for the humans, while the males held their heads in a more snobbish way, as if Yami and Yugi were merely ants to be squished with a flick of a claw, which was very true in a lot of ways. The smallest dragon, a baby lying at the white female dragon's front paws, was as big as a horse! The rest of the dragons were at least twice that size.

The black dragon purred. Her tail once again moved toward Yugi, who watched it cautiously as she lifted his cloak for a moment then she spoke to Aaron, "Now, Aaron. I think you and your companions should explain your situation to us. After all, what could two princes possibly want from us dragons, so far away from their home, without swords and armor to fight?"

At the words 'swords and armor', one of the large white males snarled, followed by a few others laying about the huge room.

Yami looked to Aaron, and the man smiled encouragingly. After taking a deep breath to calm their rising nerves, the two princes told the dragons of their problem. They first told them about Vivian, and their reasons for running away. And then the largest blue dragon had asked Yami to explain a bit more of his child hood, in order to explain his parents' rash behavior about the 'strange' marriage.

So Yami told them about the extra fencing, the extra magic, Latin and the cooking.

When the two finished explaining, the white males had settled and the two princes knew most of the dragons' names or at least, the ones who had been speaking with them who had revealed their names. The largest of the white dragons and most silent of the three was Kronos.

Yami found he only spoke when he wanted to know something, and usually the question was straight to the point. He seemed to calculate every vowel Yami spoke, so he tried to keep his voice steady.

The smaller white male, who had settled beside the black female, was Azure. He was the one who commented sarcastically, and showed a rather arrogant attitude to the situation, if not a somewhat hot-headed one as well.

The white female, who was the most polite and asked most of the questions, was Kisara. When she wasn't asking a question, she was keeping her little drake-ling, who was named StarDust, quiet and was very interested in the strange human boys.

By the end of Yami's tale, Kisara hummed in thought, nuzzling her drake-ling, and Azure commented snidely, "And what do you expect us to do about it?" Other dragons agreed, and Aaron stepped forward resting a hand on both the prince's shoulders.

"Well, I propose, that you should take the two as substitutes for princesses."

A lot of dragons gave snorts and some sounds of outrage. Kronos gave a purr-like snarl of interest.

"Substitute for a princess? Who ever heard of a PRINCE, much less two of them, doing the job of a PRINCESS?" said a red dragon. He was of a stocky build and seemed built for fighting by ramming, as well as breathing fire. Yami noticed that a great white horn, stained with flecks of brown from what Yami quickly realized was blood, jutted out of the great dragon's head menacingly.

The red-eyed dragon, who was called Akira, gave the horned dragon a distasteful look. "And why not, Kato? There haven't been many princesses among us for almost a century. And wouldn't it be nice to have a human who actually reads Latin and knows magic, as well as other helpful attributes?" A few dragons gave growls and gestures of agreement.

Azure looked like he was about to make another comment, when a loud booming noise from outside made the room shudder. Kronos gave a rather amused snort, and his eyes softened for a moment as a large boulder was pushed aside, revealing another entrance into the cave. Standing, Kronos gave a vibrating chuckle as a coughing, then sneezing noise could be heard.

"Sounds like Hikari has finally arrived." And a second later, a dragon of pure white came in.

Well, pure white on one side. Hikari's one side was glaringly white from the sunlight from the opening, and the only thing that seemed to suggest old age were the slight gray areas on her face. On her other side however, no age could be pin-pointed, for the dragon's other side was coal black, and it also had a gleam from the sun bouncing off her scales. The dragon's wing on the white side was feathered, as well as scaled, while on the black side the other wing looked like the black leather wing of a bat.

It took only seconds to really take her in, but it seemed like a couple minutes to the princes, before they saw that the poor dragon was coughing and hacking rather harshly. Giving a slightly wheezed sigh, the elderly dragon began to speak. "K-Kronos! Hack! Ak-Akir-Achoo! Sorry, I'm late."

Kronos's amusement faded at the harshness of the sneezing and coughs, and Akira looked rather concerned. "What is wrong, Hikari?" Akira asked.

The white-black dragon hacked a couple more times before she could speak somewhat properly again. "F-Found a wizard, and there was nothing I could do! I had to eat him!" Hikari moaned, before sneezing again. Yugi and Yami noticed the dragon's eyes were watering. Kronos snarled softly, and moved over to Hikari, being careful to watch his stepping and tail as he passed the humans."Calm down, grandmother. You're only making it worse."

Hikari gave Kronos an annoyed look. "How can I do something like tha-achoo! With this horrid allergy att-hack! Ohhh, someone give me a handkerchief, or SOMETHING!" Hikari moaned with irritation and misery as she tried unsuccessfully to wipe her eyes.

Yugi frowned, as he also began feeling a little worried for the elder dragon. Quickly, an idea came to mind, and after fumbling with the pin, Yugi pulled off his cloak. He was hesitant for a moment, but remembering that he'd packed a spare he felt reassured.

Holding the some-what large article of clothing out, he called to Kronos, "Will this work?"

Akira blinked, and the dragons all watched Kronos and Yugi in interest as the huge dragon used his tail to elegantly wrap around the cloak's edge, and then take the cloth from the boy to hand it to Hikari, who gratefully accepted it, and wiped her eyes, as well as her nose.

"Oh, goodness, that's much better-achoo!" Yugi watched as the dragon sneezed, and a small burst of flame came out of her mouth, but Kronos quickly pulled the cloak away from the fire, though it became singed around the edges. The elder dragon took a couple more minutes to calm herself and after taking back her gift from Kronos, dabbed her eyes again. By the time she was completely through, the cloth was covered with either fire singes or the liquid from Hikari's eyes and nose. Kronos took the cloth, and with a polite request of approval from Yugi, threw the ruined cloth into the fire.

Smiling with relief that Hikari seemed better, Yugi blinked when Aaron shed off his cloak, folded it and handed it to the smaller male, whispering quietly; "You will need it and I have more of my own."

Giving a contented sigh, the elder dragon moved a little closer to the human group and leaned down so that one of her large golden eyes could inspect Yugi.

The said prince tried not to be unnerved by the site of his reflection in the mirror sized orb, but he did feel slightly awed by how kind she was as the dragon began to thank him. "I'm very grateful to you, my dear child. Thank you, so very much." Yugi blushed, and smiled shyly.

"Um, you're welcome, my lady."

Hikari tittered at the boy's bashful and politeness, and straightened her neck to look at Kronos, then at Kisara and Akira. "And who might these humans with Aaron be? They don't seem armed for challenging us."

"We were just talking about that. They say, that they wish to do the work princesses normally do. As this is rather peculiar, we're still trying to decide what to do with them."

"Eat them." Kato grumbled, licking his chops slightly as he eyed Yami, who gave him a pretty sharp look, and pulled his brother a little bit closer to his side.

"Kato, that's just plain rude," Akira remarked. "Besides, I think it would be interesting to keep them. As I said before, their knowledge may prove useful."

Kronos frowned, giving the brothers a very thoughtful look. "Perhaps, Akira. However, I do not trust them. Princes are known to not only take princesses as their treasure, but also gold and jewels for defeating dragons. What if they are simply trying to weasel into our home, in order to steal and kill while we slept?"

Hikari glared and shook her head at the blue male. "Oh, that's complete bosh, Kronos. We all have our magic to keep humans from stealing, and besides, Aaron himself has brought them. I've known the man since his birth, and I for one will gladly give any friends of his a chance."

Kato snorted. "You have grown soft-bellied, as well as softhearted in your old age, Hikari. Humans are never to be trusted, even if you know them very well." After saying this though, the red dragon jumped to his feet when Kronos snapped white teeth dangerously close to the red dragon's neck.

"And you will show respect in the presence of the elderly, Horned one." Kato snarled, but laid back down, further back from where the white dragon stood with his grandmother. Hikari huffed, than turned to Akira. "'Kira, dear. Why not give the humans a trial? I am sure that you will keep them out of trouble."

Kisara frowned, turning her head to Hikari while Star Dust crawled slowly over to Yami and Yugi. "Hikari, do you think it would be wise to place both princes with her? I am sure me and my mate, you or Azure could take one of them in as well."

Hikari huffed at the idea. "Not during the trial. The two are clearly twins, and they shouldn't be separated before they've adapted properly to our mountains."

Kronos hummed in thought, than blinked, snarling softly when he saw the drake-ling sniffling at Yami's hair. The human, not noticing the growing gaze of dragons, chuckled as he slowly reached up, gently stroking StarDust's nose. Yugi hesitantly stroked a scale on the baby's neck, though the size of the 'little' one made him somewhat nervous. Aaron smiled at the prince's reactions, and looked to Kronos.

"I agree with Hikari. Let the brothers find their feet in Akira's home, and once they are sure, let one of them be sent to a neighboring dragon's cave." He turned back to the brothers, chuckling as the two realized they were being watched by almost all the dragons again, and awkwardly stopped giving attention to a disappointed StarDust. Kronos gave a disgruntled sound, but he nodded. "I suppose we shall just have to see how things go."

Kisara giggled, and gently picked the baby up with her tail, gently moving him to rest at Hikari's legs.

Hikari purred, and licked at the baby's face for a moment before nodding towards Kronos. "Very well, it's settled then. The trial shall last for 3 weeks, we'll see how well they do and then decide if they can stay."

Yami and Yugi felt their hearts and stomachs flip with relief and excitement at being accepted, even for a trial! The two shared a determined smile, the other knowing that they both would need to do their best to please their hosts.

Kato snorted indignantly, and grumbled out in complaint "Latin words, princes doing a princess' job, and for that you would take two scrawny, porcupine haired-"

Kronos snarled softly, and Kato flinched. Akira rose, and she also gave Kato a growl. "I'll thank you not to insult my princes. Now, Yami, Yugi, I'll take you to your temporary home now."

The two princes nodded, and they turned to Aaron, saying good bye and thanking him.

"It wasn't any trouble! Now, take care, and make sure to help them all you can. They are rough around the edges, but I promise you that Akira and the others will treat you kindly."

With that, Aaron gave their hands a shake, and turned, opening the door and walking out. Yugi and Yami blinked when the door closed, and the door was no longer there.

"Princes, follow me please." The two turned, and quickly moved to follow Akira, who had moved to another large opening in the cave, this one leading into darkness of the mountain.

Yugi opened his mouth to ask about light, only to jump as blue balls of fire suddenly flew out of the fire and began to float about them, lighting the way as they began moving down the tunnel.

Because Akira was so large, the two had to go at a trot to keep up with her strides, and after a moment she slowed just a little, though they still walked briskly.

"Well, I suppose I should properly introduce myself. My name is Akira, and as you know you are to be my princes. For today, we'll simply start with getting you settled, and maybe I'll have you do a couple things for me."

Yami smiled at Yugi, grasping the boy's arm to help him keep up as he asked, "Will we be working on the library at all?" Akira gave a chuckle. "Not yet. I think I'll start you boys off with something smaller for today. The library is almost completely uncatalogued, and the whole room needs a good cleaning." Yami and Yugi glanced at each other, but Yugi smiled and Yami shrugged and the three of them continued down the tunnel.

The two quickly began to notices changes as they went along. The crude tunnel soon began to grow larger and cleanly cut. The walls began to look somewhat like gem covered stone that was colored with blues and some tinges of red and pinkish hues every now and again, and huge torches lined the halls, lighting their way. As such, Akira's makeshift fire quickly went out.

It seemed like they only walked for a couple minutes, but Yami had the feel that these halls were somehow magicked into making it seem like you weren't taking very long, when in fact they were going a long way.

As they walked, they passed different passage ways, and every now and again, they would take a turn left or right. Akira would pause now and again to either tell them where the public banquet hall was, or which passages were public or private. The private passages usually had an insignia over it, and were usually smaller then the public passage ways. One passage that they paused at caught both the boy's attentions immediately.

A huge passage was blocked by a golden gate. It was decorated with elegant curls and leaf like patterns, and though it was worn, the gate was a beautiful thing to gaze at.

Akira turned her head to Yugi and Yami. "This is the gate to the Caverns of Fire and Ice. The caverns beyond are filled with all types of strange things. Not many are allowed there, and even fewer can enter without permission. Not that it's stopped anyone from trying." Akira began walking again, and the two followed, as Yami commented. "Aren't the Caverns of Fire and Ice a place for people to gather things for quests?"

Akira nodded. "Yes, but only for very special quests, such as the Hall of Healing Waters. But as I've said, it is a strange place. Things can go very wrong, very quickly. Especially for those who do not ask permission to pass inside the Caverns."

The two princes glanced back at the gate then quickened their slowing pace to keep up with Akira as she turned another corner.

A few moments later, they came to a private passage way, which Akira lead them down, and soon they were inside her cavern.

Yugi and Yami hadn't really expected too much, possibly a huge but crude cave with a couple doors to the treasury and library. What they saw surprised them.

The caves were huge, to fit Akira's size, but they weren't dark stone, or natural rock formations. It was like entering a castle court room, but with more doors, and the entrance had no doors, so that you could see far out, over mountain, mist and forest alike. Tapestries of dragons, knights, kings and queens, and all other such stories filled with bright colors, covered the walls. The sun streaming in from the western entrance filled the cavern with light, making it seem like a rather cheerful place. Laying at an eastern part of the room was a huge nest of red satins, white linens and different sized and colored pillows fit for a dragon to rest on. Beside it was a huge chest, as well as a side table, which Yami might have been able to reach easily with a stepping stool.

Akira led the slightly awed princes to the small doors at the northern part of the cave. There were 4 doors all lined up together, facing the princes in a semi circle. They weren't any bigger then a human sized door and they did not have much for scratch marks, or wear on them. Yugi wondered to himself, 'How in the world does Akira fit through the doors?'

The first door, starting on the left, was a huge red wood door with a lock on the handle. The middle door was green with a gold handle and a plaque that read 'Library'. The third and final door was blue crystal, with a silver handle which also had a lock on it.

"The one on the far left is my smallest treasury, as well as my armory. The middle is, of course, the library, and the third is my main treasury." She then motioned for them to come towards the southern part of the cave, just a little to the west of the passage they'd come in from.

Two more portals stood there, one with a simple wooden door, and the other was without a door at all. Yami and Yugi looked inside this opening to see a rather large area, filled with both cupboards, stoves, sink and store room for food.

"That is the kitchen, and this door here, leads to your room. Usually, I have only one princess here, so you'll have to share the bed inside. But I'm sure you two will be comfortable, considering how cold it can get in here at times. Now, put your things away inside, and when you're ready, come into the smaller treasure room. I'll have you two organize some magic items from normal ones, and I'll show you the ropes. After words, we'll work on dinner." Akira gave them a toothy smile and then headed back to the doors.

Yugi went to go inside, but paused to watch Akira go into the first door.

Both brothers' eyes went wide: neither the door seemed to get any bigger, nor Akira any smaller, but she elegantly moved through the door. The two blinked then Yugi looked at Yami with a somewhat puzzled face. "How did she-?" Yami smiled.

"Magic. I remember reading about doors that are made for fitting the size of any living thing, no matter how large or small the door is." Yugi nodded, and followed Yami as the said prince moved into their new room.

Inside, it was more cave-like, but tapestries also covered these walls. Because it was usually used for princesses, the pictures were mainly of knights, balls and banquets, and there was one or two of unicorns. Luckily, nothing else seemed too feminine about the room, except for a forgotten, plain, working dress laying on one of the bed posts.

The cave was large, almost as big as Yami's room at home. They were slightly surprised by how large the bed was. It was king sized with brown covers, with white linen and pillows. It wasn't very fancy, but it wasn't totally plain either, and after Yugi then Yami tested the bed by lying down, it was comfortable. Aside from the bed, the only furniture in the room was a dusty old desk, a closet and a cracked full body mirror, rimmed with tarnished silver.

Yugi grabbed the dress and moved to put it inside the closet. He hung up the dress and searched through the rest of the outfits, hoping in vain to find some plain work clothes that weren't female's. He closed it with a soft hum of thought.

"Well, good thing we brought a few clothes of our own. No men's clothing and no work clothes either." Shrugging, Yugi moved over to the desk to see how dusty it really was, while Yami looked at the closet, blinking when he heard the door creak; the hinges seemed to squeak.

Yugi heard it, and turned to watch as Yami opened the door. They gawked. Inside, all the glamorous female clothing was gone, and instead there were plain outfits, all fit for cleaning and working with dust and all men's clothing. Yugi couldn't help but give a small laugh. "I should have known the closet would be enchanted too."

The two princes gave a small jump when the closet door seemed to nod, or rather wiggle in agreement, which made them chuckle a little more. Yami fished through the various clothes, until he had two short sleeved tunics of gray. Now that he knew the closet was enchanted, he wasn't surprised that they were the right size for the twins. Yugi grabbed the tunics while Yami grabbed two pairs of brown pants.

As they began taking off their traveling clothes to switch into cleaning clothes, the two looked at each other, smiling.

Things had been rather successful so far. They had followed a gardener's advice, traveled and made a new friend, met and gained help from dragons and were about to be put to work sorting out and cleaning up treasures of a mighty dragon.

Yes, they were glad. In fact, the two felt better about their decision to leave than ever before, and they knew that they would do alright now.

Once the two were ready, they quickly moved over to the treasury door, opening it to find Akira in a massive sized cave, with treasure laying everywhere. Literally, everywhere.

Suits of armor lay scattered on the ground, piles of coins and precious jewels piling like great hills and mountains. Goblets of silver, copper and gold with either intricate designs or jewel crested rims were scattered everywhere, along with great shields from various kingdoms and regions, most crested with their former owner's home land. Swords too, though some were without sheaths and rusted at the blade, came in all shapes, sizes and designs. Jewels littered the hilts, gold was used for decoration on the handles. But it wasn't just swords either. Great battles axes and spears littered the trove, and even a couple bows. Many of the items were lined up against the walls, but there were plenty of weapons laying idly on the ground too.

The light pouring in from behind Yugi and Yami along with the few torches lit about the chamber, made the whole hoard glow with golds, silvers and the many shades of red, blue, green and such from the gems.

Yugi whistled. "I think Vivian would faint from joy if she saw this room."

The black dragon chuckled. Her massive tail shoving a smaller pile of treasure towards the rest, where Yugi noticed that a few of the piles in the very center of the room seemed kind of flat or shallow at the top as if something had been laying there. He quickly realized what it was once Akira flicked an armored helmet off the pile. She climbed on top and lied down, giving a rather satisfied growl when she shifted a little until she was comfortable. The way she laid made Yugi think of a cat, and he smiled a little.

Akira looked about the messy room and nodded. "Alright. I'll be supervising you two today, and I will help if you need it. Now for your first tasks," She turned to Yugi.

"Alright little one, there are shelves of rock against the wall to the left of the door and it's filled with bottles. There are three shelves in total, and I want you to organize the bottles by their lids, put ones with gold lids on the bottom, the ones with regular lids in the middle, and ones with lead on the top. Whatever you do, do NOT open the lead-lidded bottles. You may look through the other bottles at another time, but for now just focus on organizing them all."

Yugi blinked then moved over to the said shelves. Luckily, he could reach all three shelves without much hassle, and after shoving a chest over, it was a lot easier for him to organize the bottles.

"Yami, I need you to collect all the armor pieces you see laying about the floor. Luckily, most of the suites are very different from each other, and I only have ten full suites of armor, so I just need you to put them all in a pile, then you and Yugi can sort them together later..."

And that was how the day went on. Yugi and Yami weren't very use to working so hard, but they found it was rather fun, considering they would always find things, or something interesting would happen half way through the work.

At the end of the day, the two were very tired, but Yami gently coaxed his brother to help him explore the kitchen. Most of the cupboards were dusty as well as empty, and the pantry was bare as a beggar's bowl. When they finished scrounging the room, they found very little food, and all of it was completely rotten. After getting rid of the horrid stench the composted matter had made with soapy water from the sink, the two left the kitchen to find Akira lying near them.

"I'm sorry, princes. But my last princess wasn't very helpful in the kitchen, and the other princesses would have to come each day to give her food." Akira said as the two collapsed beside her. They all sat in the opening of her cave, the fading light of the sun painting the sky beautiful shades of gold, orange and pink.

Yugi sighed, blinking when Yami got up and disappeared into their room for a moment. When Yami came back, he opened his bag he'd brought to reveal two cold beef pasties and two apples.

"It's alright, Aaron gave us some food. But we'll still need food for tomorrow." Yami said handing Yugi his portion of food before the elder prince quickly made work of the apple.

Akira hummed in thought then nodded. "Yes, very true. The princesses here will mostly likely pay a visit tomorrow, but as for filling the pantry in the kitchen, give me a list of food you need and I'll be sure to get them by tomorrow night."

Yugi beamed, while Yami nodded. "Alright... would it be okay if I fished through the library later for a cook book? I haven't cooked in so long, you see."

Akira gave him a nod, resting her head on the ground as her tail gently curled to lie near the two human's feet. "You may do so. And I thank you for the help in the treasure room. I've been meaning to get those shelves and armor cleaned up." Yugi and Yami replied with a polite, 'Your welcome' before continuing with their meal.

Once finished, they three simply watched the light fade, all feeling rather satisfied with the day... Then Yugi groaned. Yami and Akira looked at him in confusion as the younger twin huffed, crossing his arms as he tried to think up a solutions to his new predicament.

"How am I going to send a letter to our parents?"

* * *

Sam: I was going to finish it when Yami and Yugi are changing, btu I decided that I wanted it to be a little longer, plus I just love the ending line! XD

Anyways, this chapter really got me on a writer's block, mainly witht he dragon scene, plsu I didn't know what I should do for Akira's lair. But after soem advice, and a couple hours of brainstorming, I got something cool!

If the place is at all confusing, I'm very sorry, I tried to make sense but... Well, either way, this is pretty much my christmas present to you guys.

Again, Merry Christmas, Happy new Year, and God bless us everyone!


End file.
